Ammoland: It’s Time for Heads to Roll at the National Rifle Association

The full linked article doesn’t provide much new material, but is an excellent compilation of the full breadth and depth of what our friends at Ammoland term the “shit storm” currently swirling around the National Rifle Association. It’s well worth clicking over and reading the whole thing. If you can stomach it.

Also overlooked in equating only [former NRA President Oliver] North’s behavior with bad faith: North’s demands to review Brewer’s legal bills, going back to February and March 2019, were joined by Richard Childress and Carolyn Meadows, then 1st and 2d Vice-Presidents. On their face, these demands, made by NRA’s top three officers who also are members of the Board of Directors, could not legitimately be refused.

Yet they were rebuffed by LaPierre well before North’s attempt to force him out on the eve of the Board meeting of April 29, 2019.

Whoever conceived this latest lawsuit gave scant thought to the legal reality that a suit alleging conflicts of interest, breach of fiduciary duty and actions “contrary to the best interests of NRA” is not a one-way street. Putting such concepts at issue kicks open the door to exposure of NRA’s own conduct which the defendant can freely explore in depositions, interrogatories, and requests for production of documents that can be judicially compelled. Predictably the media will enjoy a feeding frenzy, and the Board better hope that its director liability insurance policy is still in place following NRA’s rupture with Lockton Affinity after Carry Guard capsized.

It must be at least a little embarrassing that, even as NRA seeks a declaratory judgment affirming that North was disloyal to NRA, the results just announced of the most recent election of 27 NRA directors show him as the top vote-getter. No experienced observer of NRA elections would read into this anything more than an expected consequence of name recognition, but it makes it awkward to explain to the membership North’s abrupt disappearance from the Politburo. Unsurprisingly there is no mention of it in the “Official Journal” sections of NRA’s monthly magazines. Officially, it never happened. Rank-and-file NRA members who want to learn how and why North became an “unperson” have to read The Wall Street Journal.

Then we have Chris Cox and his chief-of-staff, Scott Christman, suspended on suspicion of being “implicated” in the alleged coup d’etat. If criticism of LaPierre is synonymous with disloyalty to NRA, the Cult of the Personality now has found its most sublime expression. This could not have come at a more critical time for the NRA. Since the last national election, ILA needs its full strength to fight the impending battle in Congress—not decapitated in a vengeful internecine “cleansing.”

Are Childress and Mrs. Meadows “implicated” too? Who will pay their legal bills when they are subpoenaed?

Finally, there’s the revelation that Woody Phillips, the NRA’s just-retired Treasurer for 26 years, broadened the now-all-too-familiar profile of NRA’s salaried executives. The prior norm seemed to be enrichment through extraordinary salaries, conflicts of interest, double-dipping, sweetheart deals, and extravagant retirement schemes. Woody has added the word “embezzlement.” According to a June 19 article on The New Yorker website, his former employer asserts that before Woody came to NRA, he was caught stealing more than a million dollars by generating and paying fake invoices. Unless this story is a complete fabrication, the evidence seems incontrovertible: when he was confronted, the story discloses, Woody immediately returned $500,000 of it and started paying interest on the balance. This comes on the heels of separate reports of questionable payments made by NRA to Woody’s “significant other.” Was his earlier modus operandi revived with a slight twist?

One might reasonably expect that the current Board will immediately initiate a fresh forensic audit of disbursements to outside contractors during Woody’s tenure…NOT.

This and one was shouted down as a Anti NRA paid B-Loon-Berg troll for suggesting that there needed to be a shake up of personnel thru out the organization.
Little Wayne La Pee Pee’s head should have resided on the point of his sword long ago.
My only hope is that the organization can be saved to return the control to it’s members/Americans the protection of the 2 nd. amendment,instead of the aggrandizement of a very few that has occurred under Wayne’s mismanagement of the organization over all these years.

It is essential for nonprofits to have a strong organizational structure. This structure is built through the board of directors. But what exactly is a board of directors and what role does a board play within a nonprofit?
The board of directors is the governing body of a nonprofit. Individuals who sit on the board are responsible for overseeing the organization’s activities. Board members meet periodically to discuss and vote on the affairs of the organization. At a minimum, an annual meeting must occur with all board members present. Additional meetings are likely to take place throughout the year so board members can discuss and make other necessary decisions. Board memberships are not set up to be permanent positions; most organizations have terms set up for board members, which typically fall between two and five years.

Ideally, a nonprofit’s governance is different from its management (paid staff). The board of directors, as a governing body, should focus on the organization’s mission, strategy, and goals. Staff members are responsible for the implementation of the mission. Having dual-capacity board members can often lead to problems (which will be discussed in detail in our next article) between a nonprofit’s mission and how it operates.

Organizations also have officers, typically from among the board members, who are given a higher level of responsibility compared to other board members. Initial officers are elected by the board; this vote usually takes place during the organization’s first meeting. Much like board members, officers usually serve terms. Typically, a nonprofit has three officers serving the role of President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officer roles and their terms should be specifically defined in the organization’s bylaws.

The President heads up the board and supervises all of the business and affairs of the board. While the President can also serve as the CEO of the organization, keep in mind that these two roles are separate; an individual cannot be compensated to hold an officer position.

The Secretary keeps the minutes of the board of directors. Additionally, the Secretary is responsible for keeping track of the organization’s activities to make sure the actions of the organization are in accordance to the organization’s Bylaws. The Secretary usually keeps track of the board members’ contact information in order to inform the board about meetings and updates on the organization.

The Treasurer keeps account of the receipts and disbursements in the organization’s books. Additionally, the Treasurer is responsible for keeping track of the organization’s financial condition. This is an important role because it keeps the other officers and board members informed about the financials.

Though officers are typically board members, there are no guidelines or requirements that suggest an organization cannot elect an individual outside the board to be an officer for the organization (unless the officer roles described in the organization’s bylaws state otherwise). It is possible for an individual to hold two separate offices, with the exception that the President cannot also serve as the Secretary.

It is best practice to find individuals within the community who have passions and experience that aligns with the nonprofit’s mission. There are no IRS guidelines in place to determine who is certified to be on a board; any individual can become a board member. There are guidelines, however, that help not-for profits avoid inurement.

It is important to understand IRS guidelines about conflict of interest when structuring the board of directors for a nonprofit organization. A conflict of interest is a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer, board member, or employee. Conflicts of interest in a board of directors can take several forms. Related parties on the board, board members related to employees, certain transactions, and dual-capacity individuals all present a conflict of interest. While it might not be possible to avoid a conflict of interest in every situation, it is best practice to avoid or minimize them.

Understanding how the IRS defines relationships and conflicts of interest is important when determining what qualifies as the organization’s quorum. A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members of a group who can officially meet to discuss business and vote on decisions. In a nonprofit setting, a quorum is the minimum number of unrelated board members needed to count as an official meeting. For example, if a board of directors is comprised of five individuals, in most cases three of these board members can meet and satisfy quorum. However, if a board is comprised of five individuals, of whom two are related, satisfying quorum becomes more complicated. If both related members are at a meeting during a voting situation, all five board members must be present to satisfy quorum because the majority of board members present must be unrelated.

To avoid having a majority related board, you have to know how the IRS defines a relationship between board members. Board members who are related either through blood or marriage are considered related parties. The IRS typically considers grandparents, spouses, or siblings a relationship. Any relationship beyond an immediate family member, such as a cousin or aunt, is not normally considered a relationship in the eyes of the IRS. Business partners are also considered related parties; if two or more individuals own at least 35% of a business, the IRS considers them related through business dealings. This relationship usually takes the form of co-owners of a commercial business serving as board members for the same nonprofit organization. Individuals related by business dealings are treated the same as blood/marriage relationships.

Not-for profits are almost always disallowed to have a majority-related board. Despite not having a specific, written prohibition against a majority-related board, the IRS will disallow it in its initial review of an organization’s Form 1023 application. Individuals may not receive excessive compensation or benefit from their employment or association with the organization. Even if individuals on the board are not compensated, the inurement prohibition infers the unwritten rule against majority-related board members. Inurement, as it pertains to nonprofits, means that individuals within an organization cannot receive excessive compensation or benefit from their employment or association to the organization. This prohibition is in place because such arrangements would contravene the mission of the organization.

The IRS inurement prohibition goes beyond majority-related board members. It also includes dual-capacity individuals. Dual-capacity individuals are those who serve as an employee as well as a board member of the same organization. These individuals do not help satisfy quorum, especially when the board is voting on compensation for this board member’s position. In fact, these individuals must recuse from discussion and voting on matters relating to them. It is critical to understand the vision of responsibilities for board members and employees. The board is responsible for the governance of the organization, while employed individuals are responsible its management and operation. As stated in our last article on board members, having an individual be responsible for both of these roles is not long-term best practice.

Even board members who are not serving an additional role can present a conflict of interest to the organization. For instance, if a board member’s relative is to be hired by the organization, the related board member must recuse themselves of voting on the hiring and compensation amount for their relative (a relative in this case is the same as listed above). Additionally, a conflict of interest is created if the organization chooses to use services provided by a board member’s for-profit entity. If an organization does intend to use such services, it must provide documentation showing the for-profit entity is the best option for the organization, and services must be provided at a fair value (if not below market value).

Insider-owned land, buildings, vehicles, or equipment that is being used by the organization present a conflict of interest. At a minimum, the insider must recuse themselves of any discussion or decision-making. Unless donated, the IRS may require proof that the transaction is in the best interest of the nonprofit, which as mentioned in the above paragraph, will require research and documentation.

Avoiding conflict of interest is always best practice. If having a conflict of interest is unavoidable, there are measures the organization can take to avoid questions from the IRS. All decision-making should be documented. Proper documentation also helps the organization ensure that all meetings have the proper board members to satisfy quorum. Having policies and criteria for board members, both new and current, will help the organization abide by IRS guidelines.

There is a lawsuit between the NRA and the state of New York and Governor Cuomo using state-funded money to go after the NRA, because Cuomo has got a crew of writers that are constantly writing stories about Trump and the NRA

Very interesting article indeed; it almost looks like LaPierre was setting up the NRA to ‘throw’ this lawsuit against Ack-Mack by choosing one of its Democrat players to represent the organization. That would actually be in keeping with his pattern of protection; not only would the NRA end up letting Ack-Mack off the hook for all the embezzlement in the end (giving the appearance to NRA membership that he was trying to defend their interests) it would only be after he’d arranged for a quasi-affiliate marketing group to replace them and many millions of dollars as a dowry for his continued leadership of the NRA. Thus, the script would be the NRA lost in court to slick & sleazy lawyers, but had severed ties with them & were now working with a new, better agency (Brewer’s firm), when in reality everyone involved had been & still were attending all the same cocktail parties & orgies.

Ackerman is a very big outfit; I think we may be witnessing a battle for control of the NRA between two of its branches (but AM very much still intends to run the show regardless). The old bosses wanted to use the NRA to set up rackets (Carryguard, training services, worthless activism) and get paid that way; I think the new group this Brewer clown heads up want to fold the group into RNC activism & fundraising, and get paid that way. I can sure see how there’d be more money in chasing the litany of RNC causes, after all. The Carryguard collapse fiasco followed by Trump Slump donation shortfall probably precipitated the opening that Brewer pounced on (“see, you’re rackets all suck & you aren’t producing; move over & let us run things, we’ll get the money”)

LaPierre, as the figurehead of the NRA as well as protector/promoter of AM, has to tread a fine line; he must make it appear that the switchover to the new branch of AM is justified & necessary (“those old guys were ripping us off!”) while continuing to demonstrate loyalty & usefulness to the mothership through massive payments lest they swap him out at the same time. I suspect North –shock– is hooked up with the RNC-centric clique of AM, and attempted to replace LaPierre as I described. I think LaPierre is now trying to fight back in order to save his personal leadership role in the system, while buying peace with the new branch of AM behind the scenes via Brewer. Imagine if LaPierre had resigned as North had wished; North, the guy hired to manage the increasingly-Republican NRATV system, would now wield the authority to dismiss high ranking officials within the NRA, and would obviously continue to retool the organization around RNC interests. I think LaPierre simply wants to stay on and be the guy who gets rewarded for doing that instead; so he’s dismantling North’s NRATV organization, but I suspect we’ll see a replacement in short order, in time for the next election cycle.

“North, the guy hired to manage the ***increasingly-Republican NRATV system***, would now wield the authority to dismiss high ranking officials within the NRA . . .” [Emphasis mine]

Interesting comment, this. Given that the intense politicization of the gun-control movement is aligned with and abetted by Democrat-left progressive dogmas, your unstated implication—that there is somehow a “better” NRA ideological position that doesn’t embrace “Republican” (the horror!!) ideas of freedom and liberty as key elements of 2nd Amendment support—-is pretty deafening.

There ain’t no middle ground in this fight. So please explain to us just how an NRA position that doesn’t align itself with broadly conservative ideals of freedom and liberty is advantageous to the preservation of 2nd Amendment rights?

No need to knee-jerk at me like that; the NRA political arm exists to promote gun rights –right? And not to promote the Republican Party, right? Two separate ideas, right? Even if they sorta-kind (not really) go along together at the present moment?

The NRA can endorse 100% Republican; none of us should have any issue with that…so long as said Republicans are pro-gun. They shouldn’t endorse anti-gun Republicans just because they are Republican…yet they currently do. The NRA should refuse to weigh in on distracting non-gun-related topics like racism, immigration, homosexuality, tax policy, ‘liberals,’ and even party affiliations, unless explicitly germane to firearms policy. Yet they hired right-wing pundits to be the face & voice of the org, and allowed them to weigh in on all these extraneous topics using NRA donations, which has both frustrated more focused gun rights supporters like myself, and drawn the attention of leftists seeking to portray the NRA as a nakedly partisan group undeserving of its charity status. How many times have we heard about Loesch’s stupid train-video by rabid leftists? Was making that a good use of NRA funds for pro-gun outreach, in your opinion? Hell, was her being hired in the first place a good use of funds? What did it accomplish, exactly, beyond getting people –such as yourself, for instance– to conflate the NRA with the Republican Party, and maybe kick in a few extra bucks while emotionally vulnerable from the histrionic spiel?

LaPierre’s been there for more than 30 years, and this is only coming to a head because Trump’s election has complacent gun owners (as well as extremely attentive ones) turning off the taps…what the hell are you talking about? This is clearly the most inside of inside jobs. The author makes it clear that *it doesn’t matter* that the ‘executioners’ in the courts & media are leftists, because the NRA & LaPierre have already shown them where to stick the knife (and may very well have hired them to do the deed, as well)

If Lapierre or any of his flunkies had the slightest regard for the NRA, its principles or the membership, they’d have already tendered their resignations. Since, however, that has not occurred we may presume Lapierre has assumed the status of a Mafia Don and will not surrender without a fight.

Absolutely! If LaPierre really had the best interests of the 2nd Amendment and the NRA at heart, he would admit that this whole controversy is bad for 2nd Amendment interests, come out publicly and say so, commit to working from the sidelines and then step down. That’s what a real leader would do. This has become all about him and not the NRA. It’s gone on long enough Wayne. Do the right thing before your legacy is the destruction on the NRA and the 2nd Amendment.

$140,000/year is not a “clothing allowance”. It’s a ‘slush fund’, which is why they attempted to lauder the funds through Ackerman-McQueen. Which worked very well until LaPierre attempted to bust A-M for doing as they were told. For some reason they chose NOT to be the sacrificial lamb to save Wayne LaPierre.
Gee, I wonder why they wouldn’t like to jut lie down and die for LePierre. I’ll bet he thought they would.
Think again, LaTrine.

I pay more for gas a week then my NRA dues, you guys and David hogner can sit around a pat yourselves on the back, the NRA will be just fine without you. I find it odd that the only ones complaining or the ones that don’t pay any dues. The NRA is still largest and most powerful in the world so you can kiss their ass and kiss my ass, just signed up for a lifelong member

That lifelong membership might not even amount to a five-year membership at the rate things are collapsing.

And to think, probably 90% of even us NRA skeptics would have probably forgiven & forgotten by now if LaPierre had simply left (even though he’s now merely a symptom of a broader problem he helped cause)

And here’s the kicker, I know most of you, if not all of your Liars…. the NRA has a downloadable chat site that only members have access to and it says on every page how many NRA members have joined today and how many are in total and I have never seen any of your names or chatted with any of you, and this is my name on that chat site, so you can look me up, if you’re a member, !!! lol, just joined the GOA lifetime member also $25 a month, lol !!!

Jon Wayne Taylor, former NRA member and current NRA rifle instructor (which is verifiable for members and non-members alike). I will not be renewing my membership anytime soon, nor will I provide one-off donations to the NRA-ILA, and I won’t be renewing that training cert either. You’ve never seen me on a circle-jerk NRA forum, and you never will.
If you can, in good conscience, continue to support the current NRA, your moral compass is no longer pointing north.

Thousands of miles of coast land a year huh? Just how many miles do we have left that hasn’t been killed. I mean Exxons been around for a few years now. I mean it’s been called Exxon since 1972. Before that it was Standard Oil. The corporate DNA goes back the the turn of the century. Not the last one. The one before that you moron!

You simply spewed non-sequitur until you said you were putting out for Wayne. Many of us expressing disgust here have been life members and activists for many decades. The biggest difference between you an David Hogg is that his master takes care of him (while he is useful anyway). You, on the other hand, aren’t even going to get a courtesy reach around.

Hey Troll, why don’t you tell us again about the thousands of miles of coast line Exxon is killing EVERY year. You probably stay up at night and worry about global warming too right? Or is it climate change now?

No, I actually work for Exxon, but I was just saying that CEOs have done far worse then the NRA president and CEOs and nobody gave a shit and they spend far more money on gasoline than they ever will on NRA memberships or any membership

Not happy about the NRA’s issues, but I gave up on the org. in the late ’80’s.
Looking back, I have no regrets for my decision, but I think the new problems may be a blessing in disguise. A chance to re-organize and get back to the base premise.
The U.S.’s oldest civil rights organization needs to get back to it’s “roots”.

Absolutely! As a lifetime member and member of an affiliated club.. Wayne Lapierre needs to go. They have been caving to the gun grabbers for a long time and they have not adapted well to the attacks to individual states, The Left has attacked the states vie the Citizens Initiative process. The NRA has to adapt to this.

Mine ran out at the end of last month and I let it. They have become what they are supposed to fight. And yeah I know it probably didn’t hurt them but it wasn’t a move to hurt them. It’s simply a matter of you didn’t do what I paid you for just like you didn’t in the 90s with the Brady Bill so I’m not going to pay you anymore.

Someone needs to photoshop that picture of Wayne, Cox, and North at NRAAM to remove them from the picture, just like that famous photo of Stalin on the boat with like five other ‘un-persons’ who he had disappeared from Soviet history.

Organized crime with a .org website, La Pierre needs to go to jail and the NRA needs to get back to the basics of protecting gun rights at all levels and promoting firearms to the younger generations. Salary caps, no extras for suits and whores. You can still find an executive who can run an organization effectively for 10% of what La Pierre steals as a wage. No one is irreplaceable in an organization of this size. La Pierre seems to have never learned this concept.

In acknowledgement of your form letter of June 17, 2019 I am responding as follows:

You wrote that you would never be able to thank me enough for my friendship and especially for my extraordinary commitment to the Second Amendment and the NRA. In all candor, I have not had a personal conversation with you since 1979 except for a couple of brief conversations at meetings of American Association of Political Consultants years ago. I never considered us friends then, and I certainly do not today.

Regarding my commitment to the Second Amendment, it predated your hiring at the NRA and continues today. My commitment to the NRA is also strong, but only because I consider the organization vital to protecting, and perhaps enhancing what the law considers to be compliant with the Second Amendment.

If you want to thank me, you can do so by resigning your position with the NRA and encouraging your puppet President to also resign. The damage you have done to both the Second Amendment and the NRA cannot be underestimated and cannot be repaired while you are still on the payroll and involved with the association.

It is true that you are not the sole reason for the escalating damage done to the NRA. The NRA Board of Directors are also responsible by their derelictions of responsibilities for governance which would include control of all paid staff, including you, which is why they are being copied on this letter as well as any future letters addressed to you.

If you do not voluntarily resign, they must acknowledge the problem by firing you and several other members of the paid staff. Both they and you need to recognize that you are not the boss of the Board, but rather, the reverse. Ultimately, the Board Members are the elected representatives of the members and they need to understand that as well.

Just so there are no illusions, I understand associations and association management. Prior to 2006 I was the Managing Partner of a Political Consulting Group that represented 12 associations in the state of Illinois and my group worked on hundreds of political campaigns starting with the gubernatorial race in 1975. I have watched associations in operation, and have served of the Board of Directors of three, and as the Chair of one.

I also understand the need to be well-dressed in the political arena, but the price and quantity of suits you purchased seems outrageous. What is more outrageous is that the NRA ended up paying for them. None of my suits, nor any of my employees’ suits were ever paid for by the company. They paid for their suits out of their own pockets. While I am not a tax attorney, I would believe that had we done so, we would have to have included those purchase amounts on their W-2s as income.

Do you understand how purchasing suits in those price ranges have disappointed the average member of the NRA? Those suits and those luxury class trips along with a myriad of other expenses have demotivated many, many working class members from rejoining the NRA and many, many others from continuing to financially support the NRA at the same levels they might otherwise.

I know the NRA is in trouble, but do you know that you are a very large part of that problem? As I have asked in several previous letters, please resign and encourage others that are part of the problem to resign as well, and I will double my contributions to the NRA from what I am currently giving.

Thank you sir! I have been posting some of my letters to the NRA as possible examples of what other NRA members can do to try to change the situation. I have also been posting my thoughts on what Board Members of the NRA should be doing in the way of governance so that members can understand why I believe that no real change can happen until Board Members either resign (as a number already have) or start accepting the responsibilities they were elected to exercise.

I believe the problems at the NRA can be fixed, but only if the membership takes a coherent and unrelenting set of actions. Some of us are the NRA (meaning members), all gun owners should be, but regardless, we all need them. For those who believe “their guns” won’t be touched, look at what has happened in Britain regarding air guns and knives after the anti gunners there managed to get the bit in their teeth.

Their SEC charitable-org expense reporting documents put the lie to it? That’d actually be worse than what’s being alleged.

I really wish people could tell the difference between fact, assertion, and opinion. It’s gotten so bad in this country that both sides only believe in “alternative facts” or whatever that Orwellian buzzword was.

This is where the original story started, I traced its origin down to a writer that is paid by Governor Cuomo, apparently he has a whole group of people he pays to write BS articles on the NRA and the NRA and Donald Trump we’re going to court with Cuomo, stating he has use State funding to battle the NRA, this is good news

Yup, I’m absolutely sure the writers are hacks; the problem, however, is that they haven’t had to fabricate much if any of these allegations. The articles are dripping with righteous condemnation & bias (such as portraying NRA misuse of funds as unique in the charity world) but the sources they cite are factual. The NRA has indeed hired the people mentioned in the article, they have indeed spent the money as reported per their disclosure documents. Discovery in the upcoming trial is almost guaranteed to be highly damaging. None of that is Cuomo/Bloomberg’s doing, all of it is a self-inflicted own-goal by NRA leadership.

All you Anti Trump and POS bumpstock whiners go participate in the current GOP issue poll. May or may not have any relevance but won’t take you long. If you’re a Soros troll the SOB probably will pay you for queering the poll.

At least “2nd Amendment” is listed as an election issue this time. Why should I donate to a guy who actually tried to make me & my friends into felons, just so he can beat another person who at this time merely wants to make me & my friends into felons? I’m maybe *maybe* willing to vote for the guy –maybe– if he can manage to avoid trying to fuck me in the ass for the next 1.5 years before the election. Declaring legally-bought property to be contraband without so much as running it past congress to get our reps on the hook, is a bridge just a wee bit farther than the typical ‘shit sandwich’ graciously offered gun owners by the “pro gun party” each election cycle. At this point, if Trump wants to earn my vote, it’s gonna be expensive. If it’s truly needed for him to win, maybe he shouldn’t have tried to ruin me & a quarter million other gun owners for a pointless political stunt.

AmmoLand somehow forgets the Past Presidents’ letter to the membership endorsing the NRA leadership, which was released on May 22nd. Those Past Presidents are in a position to know the facts, facts which are being withheld to keep gun control advocates and our legal antagonists from misusing them.

Allan D. Cors signed that letter and would be in a position to know much more than any of us. As one of the architects of 1977, Cors has demonstrated no hesitation to squelch mismanagement at the NRA. Cors has been a scrupulous advocate for gun owners, for over a half a century, and we should trust his judgement far more than lurid leaks which are intended to serve selfish interests.

If the largest and strongest gun rights organization in America tanks the other orgs better step up their game and figure out how to throw their weight around. A democratic government will make disarmament its ONLY priority to the exclusion of most others.

Sadly, the NRA is gonna have to get a LOT weaker before it no longer crowds out or shouts down those other groups. Think of it like a rotten old-growth tree falling in a forest; it causes a lot of damage before the canopy is opened up and new growth can take hold. None of the underbrush can pull the tree down any faster, unfortunately, but their job is to regrow as quickly as possible. I think an alliance among the big state/regional orgs is the fastest route to establishing a presence like NRA-national again. Politically, all the national org really did was coordination and a bit of ineffective lobbying, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to re-establish such an effort while continuing to pursue the current agenda. As far as the money the NRA can currently direct toward local causes on occasion, that’s valuable, but hardly a reason to maintain the status quo, since it appears that money is drying up anyhow.

Is it for pro-gun people? Well why is my membership money paying for gun-related entertainment that only gun-people will watch? It always seemed to me to just be straight up pro-gun propaganda aimed squarely at gun-owner’s wallets.

Is it for anti-gun people? Then why the fudge is it screaming right-wingers yelling about how evil the left is. How is this content supposed to normalize guns or bring people to our side?

I’m usually told that I’m an anti-gun bloomberg soros gay agenda baby killing communist for daring to ask, but seriously.

Does that TV have a knob? , that’s something my dad said when my mom would walk in and cuss words would be on TV and she would get offended. in other words turn the Damn Channel. and do you have kids? And when you give them money do you bitch about what they bought with it? Did you give them the money or not? Then it’s theirs, not yours anymore

So long as Ackerman McQueen convince NRA members to donate over 2X what they would donate without such propaganda, they could justify their ridiculous costs to the NRA. Doesn’t matter that the majority of that extra 1X was going right to AM coffers, never to further the gun rights agenda, but only to increase the scale of the hustle. That ‘extra’ money being siphoned off was the whole point of AM’s relationship with the NRA. Now, if they were bringing in extra money to the tune of several times what they were charging, you could argue it’s a legitimate benefit that earned its pay –everything needs marketing after all, especially donations– but that’s not what AM have ever provided.

So in summary, there was tremendous incentive for AM to put out ‘red meat’ or ‘click bait’ or ‘outrage fodder’ or whatever you want to call it –emotionally-charged appeals that basically make an audience vulnerable to psychological manipulation, so they can be hustled for dollars. A little less than half of every dollar they earned, was money they got to keep, and they didn’t even have to accomplish any benefit to the donors to get it. Just keep them emotionally invested in the cause, whatever the cost.

Now answer why you didn’t get the emails. Answer why you didn’t know, after multiple communications from their website and directly to their email list, why didn’t you know that the NRA canceled the program specifically because of how expensive it was.

Since you claim to be so involved, how could you possibly have missed one of the largest and most public events that has happened with the NRA over the last year? This website alone has published multiple articles on it. How did you miss that?

If you have read all my comments then you are well aware of the attacks by Governor Cuomo using New York state funds and a lawsuit against him by the NRA and the president, Governor Cuomo has a crew of writers that is constantly bombarding NRA members and the whole nation with the lies of conspiracy and fraudulent spending, maybe you need to join back and get the True News and not some made-up hoopla Buy hogner and Cuomo and all the Democrats instead of being the first to jump ship when you hear rumors

I don’t believe the NRA ever gave a reason, or that they ever admitted that they did shut it down yes, the only stories you get her from the New York Times, once again lies, but hey you believe them that’s all that matters you NRA non-member instructor you, LOL

You can wish and you can hope and you can pray to your God all you want, but I guarantee you the NRA has been here way longer than you and will be here way l after your dead and buried so put that in your ass and creampie it, and keep reading the New York Times, you just got checked by NRA member bitch

Why don’t you just admit it, everything that you think you know is a rumor, I have told you that there is an ongoing war against Donald Trump and the NRA, by Governor Cuomo, if that’s not good enough for you go find another fucking way to protect your gun rights and someone to blame your miserable life on, if you got better ideas throw them the fuck out there or shut your fucking mouth, I see you’re from Texas so I’ll cut you a little bit of motherfuking slack, I’m from Houston, and I’ll tell you what son if you want to rock I’m just the one to do it with, I stand firm and I’m 53 years old and I am former Blackwater and I tell you straight up, I’m an Texan baptized in the San Jac ,I love my country and I study Texas history from Sam Houston to William Travis and there’s not one goddamn thing I don’t know about my state, so you either Stand Tall against the enemy or you get out of the way and let somebody else do it!!

You called someone a dumbass and claimed that if anything the NRA was making money off of NRA TV. Because YouTube is free.

You also claim to be actively engaged on NRA forums and are an NRA member.

And yet you clearly did not know that the NRA canceled that program specifically because it was so expensive. You clearly did not know that this was communicated directly by LaPierre himself, as well as was all over NRA media of all types.

You’re an idiot or a liar. Those are your only choices left now. Which one is it? Don’t dodge the question a third time.

C’mon John, he probably has NRA set to “shitcan” in his email box just like the rest of us (in my case, former) members. Kinda funny to glance through every once in a while, to see how NRA’s spamming matches pace with PSA’s. I won’t begrudge someone for missing one communication out of desperate, cringey hundreds. But yeah, anyone bothering to defend the NRA would know all about this affair by now unless they were faking. They’d surely use the much more convincing “who else will take you in?” so-called argument of serial-abusers, since what little we do know so far about NRA operations is already indefensible.

Steven,
I do believe there was an official announcement that Loesch/Noir/etc were being let go as part of NRATV being shut down, as part of the supposed AM ‘breakup’ (which we see now is anything but, with this lawyer LaPierre’s brought on board). That’s fact. Ackerman-McQueen’s funding stream from the NRA reached a completely ridiculous fever pitch precisely because of their work on the media-platform-cum-slush-fund. That’s also fact. North was brought on board specifically to speerhead NRATV (it still pisses me off how many clueless boomers didn’t & still don’t realize he was selected to funnel NRA money to GOP causes, despite being a lifelong Party Man and despite doing fuckall for gun rights advocacy prior to this position) which was to promote right-wing messaging and enrich AM & their affiliates under the guise of gun rights advocacy, to the tune of a 1 million dollar salary for a job that is typically unpaid. This, too, is fact.

SouthAI: Mr. Taylor sure backed the troll into a corner rather neatly, did he not? 🙂
Yet I still have to agree with you. The two terms are not mutually exclusive. Mr. Steven/Pig2/Vlad/whatever… seems to me to be both a liar AND an idiot… in that order.

IIRC, Cox took his golden life preserver and jumped ship. Or maybe I was dreaming. Got a call offering to upgrade from life member, caller said comments about NRA would be passed along. Gave an earful but no money.

It’s about time he realized it not the National LaPierre Association. The money part is serious but if you the Democrats to win on gun control keep up the not so petty BS and start defending the whole Constitution! If major donors start pulling out and Wayne doesn’t resign he should then be tossed.

Just for once can we have evidence to support the accusations? Or, is the purpose of the claims disinformation to assist the socialist left in its effort to destabilize the NRA prior to the presidential election in 2020? The left hates the NRA and it appears they have support from within the shooting community.

Have you read all the NRA documents that were leaked onto the internet? The documents that were used to write up the news pieces you think are leftists lies. There are documents from North, from Wayne, from Ackerman, etc. When the NRA was asked to comment on these documents they responded without denying the authenticity of those documents.

“This is stale news—being recycled by those with personal agendas. In any event, the entire board is fully aware of these issues. We have full confidence in Wayne LaPierre and the work he’s doing in support of the NRA and its members. It is troubling and a bit pathetic that some people would resort to leaking information to advance their agendas. This has no bearing on the board’s support of Wayne—and the work the NRA does to protect America’s constitutional freedoms.” — Carolyn Meadows, NRA President

“The board supports the work the firm is doing, the results achieved, and the value of its services. Importantly, this relationship has been reviewed, vetted and approved.” –Charles Cotton, First Vice President

Just to clarify. The NRA is full of liars. Those NRA decisions makers are enemies of the people. They are in the NRA for their personal wealth creation. They sell your rights to politicians. They should be in jail. They provide aid and comfort to the enemy, wait, they are the enemy.

Guess you didn’t watch the video?, that was the members of the board, denying all accusations of the red flag support and that’s the same input I get from the community NRA website, like I said business as usual, made up

Prevent violent behavior before it turns into a tragedy. These laws allows courts to take guns from people before they commit a crime. All states should adopt this and the federal government should help fund the gun confiscation.

Indeed, well spoken, it seems with me it’s business as usual, my magazines are still coming and I’m still receiving letters and emails and name me one company that’s never had a few Ruffles in the upper management or doesn’t talk about the president’s pay or the CEOs

Okay I’ll slow it down for you, the head of Exxon makes 20 times what the president of the NRA makes, Darren W. Woods, I am an affiliate of Exxon working in Houston and out of Spring Texas and Baytown, Exxon has done 100 times the destruction of the NRA ever could dream of doing, and yet nobody is worried about what he makes a year even though they destroy everything they touch. And how much do you pay a year in gas and how much do you pay a year in NRA dues come maybe it’s too far above your head?

I have to wonder why people keep talking about the NRA as if it were somehow a pro-2A pro-RKBA organization with a goal of defending our gun rights.

Wake up people, that ain’t what the NRA is.

The NRA was NOT founded to support the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. It was founded to support rifle marksmanship training and competition. [PERIOD!]

The NRA got its start in politics when it lobbied FOR the National Firearms Act of 1934 then followed by lobbying FOR the Federal Firearms Act of 1938

In 1934 congressional hearings the then-President of the NRA testified that he did not believe in carrying arms and that any carrying “should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.” Does that sound like the leader pro-2A pro-RKBA organization to you??

Shortly after supporting the Gun Control Act of 1968, the NRA suddenly discovered the Second Amendment — not as a guiding principle, but only as an advertising and fund raising tool.

The worst nightmare for the NRA leaders and staff was the Republican Hat Trick of 2016, taking both houses of congress and the White House. The immediate threat was gone at the national level and predictably donations started to dry up because it was hard to come up with enough scary headlines for all those “Urgent” fund raising appeals that we are used to getting every week.

The NRA was NOT founded to support the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. It was founded to support rifle marksmanship training and competition.

To be more specific: The NRA was founded by government soldiers to train sympathizers for the cause of federalism at the barrel of a rifle. They used competitions to encourage training… They were intentionally chartered in New York (and remain so) for a reason.

Dismayed by the lack of marksmanship shown by their troops, Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed the National Rifle Association in 1871. The primary goal of the association would be to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis,” according to a magazine editorial written by Church.

After being granted a charter by the state of New York on November 17, 1871, the NRA was founded. Civil War Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who was also the former governor of Rhode Island and a U.S. senator, became the fledgling NRA’s first president.

An important facet of the NRA’s creation was the development of a practice ground. In 1872, with financial help from New York State, a site on Long Island, the Creed Farm, was purchased for the purpose of building a rifle range. Named Creedmoor, the range opened a year later, and it was there that the first annual matches were held.

Political opposition to the promotion of marksmanship in New York forced the NRA to find a new home for its range. In 1892, Creedmoor was deeded back to the state and NRA’s matches moved to Sea Girt, New Jersey.

The NRA’s interest in promoting the shooting sports among America’s youth began in 1903 when NRA Secretary Albert S. Jones urged the establishment of rifle clubs at all major colleges, universities and military academies.

Essentially the NRA’s intent was to train men, who would fight on the side of the U.S. government, in the use of rifles to prevent another bad performance during another war. This is the main reason the NRA never likes to actually stand up to the U.S. government, which includes the military and police.

Law enforcement training was next on the priority list for program development. Although a special police school had been reinstated at Camp Perry in 1956, NRA became the only national trainer of law enforcement officers with the introduction of its NRA Police Firearms Instructor certification program in 1960. Today, there are more than 13,000 NRA-certified police and security firearms instructors. Additionally, top law enforcement shooters compete each year in eight different pistol and shotgun matches at the National Police Shooting Championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

One week after President George Bush’s highly public resignation from the National Rifle Association, the NRA is sheepishly backing away from the fundraising letter that outraged Bush, describing federal agents as “jack-booted thugs.” Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre has apologized for the letter, saying that his harsh words were misunderstood and were not intended to apply to all federal law enforcement officials. “That letter was intended to apply to a number of specific cases where we thought the government’s conduct was improper,” LaPierre said. “We’re very pro-law enforcement.”

The intention of the NRA was not to protect the rights of the people nor the U.S. constitution. It was simply to train men how to shoot a rifle for future conflicts where they will be called upon to kill. It was the idea of big government men that wanted to make sure their inexperienced men would be ready… Establishing the NRA in New York was a thought out decision. Now that the NRA has changed a lot (not by their choice) compared to its beginnings, the state of New York is angry and seeks to get rid of it once and for all.

The NRA will make deals with the government to keep it running like they want it. They will “comprise” your rights to stay in the good graces of the government. They will not speak to the blight of the people’s rights, rather they will increase it slowly for their personal benefit and the politicians’ benefit. They are who they have always been. Now they don’t care if the ship is finally set on fire by the government, they got life rafts.

That “right wing” appearance the NRA had was all a facade created by a marketing agency that found it to be the best way to raise money. It was marketing for stupid people; the type of people that can’t control their emotions and are highly confused by government indoctrination. Now that it is being exposed, the phony conservatives are angry and have no clue what to do about the NRA. They believe the NRA was/is actually a good organization and that only slight tweaks are necessary to fix the whole thing.

Mmkay. Keep training and giving awards to the people that are going to take your guns away by force (the people who will enforce common sense gun control because it’s the law). You can give out the officer of the year award to the cop that does the most red flag raids.

I dont know anything about the NRA, but I do know here in California we dont have the right to buy pistols, rifles, shotguns, magazines, ammunition, muzzle breaks, compensatory, suppressors and much more. What role did the NRA play in this, if any? Just last week I wanted to buy a Glock 19 from an out of state dealer. Wasnt allowed. Things are messed up here. I cant even buy a standard AR or any shotgun that takes mags. I dont get it. I would support any organisation that would work to overturn these anti constitutional laws(?). Can they even be laws when they are obviously in contra to the constitution ? What’s up?

And you know that strange, in the last few months there have been thousands and thousands of guns confiscated out of houses in California,.(Mystery surrounds 1,000 guns seized at Los Angeles mansion connected to Getty family ) it’s like people are gearing up for something.

First serve as a fudd-dumpster. It’s always been a fudd organization and always will be. I don’t give a rat’s butt about internal politics. Believe it or not a consistent 85 year pattern is all I need to see, and no amount of fanboys ranting about soap-opera crap can change it. I know you all think your pillars of the gun culture and that randos in the comment section will take you seriously, especially if you use the caps lock, but lol, no. But hey; it’s fine. Fudds are people too. Everybody is fretting about how to fix the NRA, they should look on the bright side; it’s perfect fudd containment just as it is.

Second, for real RKBA people it should serve as a bad example. I’m not kidding; Zumbo gave the RKBA cause a nice present by turning himself into a joke. We didn’t need another guy writing about optics for hunting yaks or whatever his thing was. Making him update his resume cost nothing of value. And he didn’t do much harm by fudding out. But a pariah to vent frustration on, while building unity and resolve in the rest of the gun culture was good.

Watched video from Iraqi veteran 88.He brought up several issues that made sense.Decrease N.R.A board members from 76 to 10.Term limits on everyone.An accounting and full disclosure of expenditures to N.R.A members.Changes are needed to guarantee the organization’s survival.It can and must be done.

The NRA has become an analog to the Republican party. Trump and Lapierre, two self-interested worthless people, and both have a machine behind them that takes our support for granted while they run the organizations into the ground by destroying the legacy. A true 2A absolutist will vote Libertarian. A person with a moral compass won’t cast a Machiavellian vote for Trump. And we have other pro-2A organizations to support. As long as you keep feeding the NRA and Trump your dollars and votes, you are telling them that you support them as they are now.

Yup. Or just not vote at all, if for instance one has concluded that the LNC are controlled opposition and any vote emboldens the single ruling party.

But fundamentally, yeah, anyone who votes for the lesser of two evils is a worm. Although I think a lot of them just complain in effort to sound edgy, but really are perfectly content with the GOP product, as they would be with anything they’re given as long as it mostly fits their brand of mindless tribalism.

(b) Elected Salaried Officers. Any Officer elected by the Board of Directors who is a salaried employee may be suspended with or without cause and with or without pay at any time by the Executive Committee by a three- fourths (3/4) affirmative vote of the members of the Executive Committee present at any regular or special meeting. Such suspension shall tw effective until the next meeting, either regular or special, of the Board of Directors. Any_ sm:h Officer may be fired and removed w1th or without cause at any time by the Board of Directors, by a three-fourths (3/4) affirmative vote of the members of the Board of Directors present at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors. No vote on removal may be taken unless at least fifteen (15) days notice in writing shall have been given to the officer of the charges preferred and of the time and place of the meeting of the Board of Directors at which such charges shall be considered. Notice of time, place and object of such meeting with full copy of the charges preferred shall be mailed to each member of the Board of Directors at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the meeting. At such meeting, the officer against whom the charges have been preferred shall be accorded a full hearing and may be represented by counsel.

I will NOT be renewing my membership as the N.R.A HAS NOT been doing a thing to stop that stupid bump stock ban and those dam UNCONSTITUTIONAL RED FLAG LAWS,that so many traitor Republican Senators and Congressman seem to be going along with and pushing!! President Trump needs to know that if he is passing anymore of those UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAWS he is going to lose our votes! Bill Barr is completely Anti-Second Amendment and so is most of President Trump’s appointees! This has to stop! Barr was really bad in the H.W.Bush administration,and was no friend of Gun Owners then!! N.A.G.R has filed suit in Court against Trumps Unconstitutional bump stock ban adn so has G.O.A,two gun rights organizations that really fight for the Second-Amendment and gun owners!

I had been a member for years but when the NRA endorsed Harry Reid
and the second most liberal congressman in VA for re-elaction,I resigned.
When I questioned this, I was told that it was the policy to endorse encum-
bunts if they were members.I segested that the Board reconsider this policy
but did not hear back from Wayne